School:Universidad de los Andes

Overview

Universidad de los Andes is an autonomous, independent, and innovative institution that fosters pluralism, tolerance, and respect for ideas. It aims for academic excellence while providing rigorous critical and ethical character development, in order to enhance in all students an awareness of their social and citizenship responsibilities, as well as a firm commitment to the society. The university’s student body, in an environment of interdisciplinary and flexible integral character development, becomes the chief agent of the educational process. A highly skilled, knowledgeable, and prestigious faculty facilitates the development of an outstanding academic and professional life project that supports research, contributes to the development of the country, and transcends its geographical boundaries.

Promoting student innovation and entrepreneurship

Innovation has always been deeply embedded at the heart of the Universidad de los Andes. From the very core of the institution –it’s mission statement– can be seen to play a key role: “the University of the Andes is an autonomous, independent and innovative institution that fosters pluralism, tolerance and respect for ideas [...]”

Student innovation and entrepreneurship is highly endorsed in certain faculties, both inside and outside of the classroom. The Business and Design Schools are the leaders in the creation and implementation of I&E opportunities in the classroom, with the Industrial Engineering department trailing not far behind. More and more, courses and study programs have been modified in order to further interest and expose students to I&E. These courses teach students the importance of keeping their minds open to everything I&E has to offer, and help them harvest finer entrepreneurial skills. Some of these courses have students dedicate the whole semester’s work to developing a project of their choosing, while others expose them to real-life cases and make them think outside the box.

Even though most projects deviate and stay in just dreams, there are participation circles that step in to help student entrepreneurs. These include Empreandes, which helps them ideate a stronger and more innovative core at the beginning of their entrepreneurship , and Centro de emprendimiento, where certified mentors asses them with interactive workshops and business-oriented makerspace. Also, when students need guidance through their entrepreneurial process, big scale entrepreneurship accelerators like Despega Colombia, can help propel a student’s own particular idea.

Universidad de Los Andes has a variety of tools and groups that promote students throughout the entire process of innovation and entrepreneurship, and continue to support projects when these entrepreneurs become alumni.

We think better when we're together

Being the best is encouraged a matter of great relevance at the Universidad de Los Andes. Nevertheless, its hunger of being the best has cost a massive bad reputation on the society around itself. At the moment, the university has high standards of excellent education but it fails on showing how caring and human it can be with students. Some people reject the idea of being part of the allegedly best university in the country just because of its coldness and relationship with the student body. Just because this university does not show how compromised it is with their students and their own well being, doesn't mean it doesn't care about the students.

What has just been said is affecting the univerisity's name nationally and is stopping great students to enter it. That's why we have decided to "take the bullet" for our university and try to solve this social problematic. The solution is pretty simple but had an inmense impact if handled in the correct way:

Since we believe the people's voices are the reason why everything happens and how things evolve, we decided to not take for granted everybody's perception towards the university and make a plan of action once we count with what people think. It doesn't matter if they are students or complete outsiders, every constructive critisism counts and will help improve this university's prestige, so that we can be excellent academically, but also socially.

With the help of those who cared to answer our different kinds of surveys we did notice a pattern that indicates that the fame of this university is to be cold with students and deattached from their struggles, and way too attached and interested in the academical excellence.

Now, what we are interested on creating is a massive impact so that everyone can see how invested La Universidad de Los Andes is regarding their student body well-being and happiness overall. We plan on doing that with the help of different activities that motivate those who feel good inside the campus to share their story and also those who don't feel as satisfied to also share what's going through their head, because at the end of the day, many brains think better than one, and it is very clear that we all think better when we're together.

Related Links

Landscape Canvas 2019: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kGXqJSddpzt7Ekm9KFhLRH2Ub06wEQ3B29l7I0kmayU/edit?usp=sharing

Landscape Canvas 2017:  https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jTbLhgDSYOie-nRTjLBwzn1n1sGmyh0k7tuRm37xTBc

Landscape Canvas 2018:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1M-1Egon0XX7wE3AKVUNzbUcf-FBq-rwfCHJ58AgqnOI/edit?usp=sharing

Universidad de los Andes Student Priorities: Universidad de los Andes Student Priorities

Student Contributors

Mj.hernandezs

María_Juliana_Moya

Lina_Merizalde

David_Delgado

Pedro_Juan_Isaza

Nicolas_Castro_Helo

Diana_Solano Camila_Buenaventura_Marquez

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